I grumbled as I went on to clean the dining room. The pack was large for pack standards but small nonetheless. We had 12 members, not including me. They never did. One of the only times they were all in the same room together was mealtimes, pack meetings, or full moon when we were all in the dungeons, confined. And when you had 10 werewolf males in a room together, there could be carnage. As was often the case at breakfast. I was the runt and was treated as such. Trisha had me cleaning out the dining hall after every meal. Alone. 

Trisha was Daniel's mate, and pack Luna. She was in charge of all female candidates and when one was proven worthy in her eyes, she would either bite them or let Daniel bite them. My case was special. It was at a pack party, as there had been a successful change, and Daniel had gotten drunk on werewolf alcohol. Since we were partially immortal, it took a lot to get us wasted. But some idiots were determined to try. Hence the birth of werewolf alcohol. A glass could make a mortal or candidate die, but for a werewolf, it simply made us tipsy. Two glasses and we were drunk as a pirate on a good loot day. Anyway, when this party had happened, I was serving, and Daniel was wasted. He had grabbed me, said "Pretttttty lady, wannnnna bite, huh?" and bit me. On my neck. Where the main artery was.  I had screamed and blacked out. I had awoken the next day in wolf shape. Everyone agreed that I was never meant to be bitten and that I was a fluke. They had treated me all the worst ever since. 

But a wolf's 18th birthday was special. It was when they stopped aging and found their mate. A wolf's mate didn't have to be another wolf, they could be human, vampire or other. Many people didn't know that we supernatural folk existed, but we were accepted by those who knew we did. Every wolf's mate would be found by 18. If the wolf's mate was older, and another wolf, then the older wolf would have to wait until the younger one was 18. It was simply pack protocol. When a wolf turned 18, their pack would hold a mating ball, and all of the packs and vampire dens would send their members over. Any humans who knew of our existence were allowed too, but they rarely came. 

I sighed as I collected the plates and put them on the large trolley. I had never experienced love any more than my milk mothers touch. I had been an orphan for as long as I could remember. I had appeared at the pack houses door at a young age and the pack had found no other option but to take me in. One of the Omegas, Keira, had taken me in as one of her own. Omegas were there to bear pups, and nothing more. They were the lowest in pack hierarchy but were higher than me or any candidates. Keira bore the first pup in our area for over 30 years. Pups were the only exception to the bite. They were born a werewolf but didn't shift until their 3rd birthday. Keira had taken me in and she and her son, Callum, had been my family for all of those years. Her mate, a beta, she told everyone, had rejected her, and she had run away to join the Canther Stone Pack and had given birth to her son a month after she arrived. I showed up a month after that. 

Yet still, my life wasn't terrible. Sure, I still lived in the servants quarters, sure, I hadn't been given my Luna status, ok, I couldn't take the medication that helps my aging problem, but, hey, I was immortal! I was going to find my mate.

Until Daniel told me the single worst word in my life.